|The 2008 Utah State University iGEM team consists of a diverse group of individuals. The professors and students have backgrounds in the fields of Biological Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Biology, and Microbiology. The high school students helping with this project are very bright students. They know their way around the lab and have been extraordinarily helpful on this project. Although many of us are from different parts of the country and world we all love Utah State University and Logan Utah.

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|'''TEAM USU BACKGROUND'''<br>

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|-|[[Image:USU_iGEM.jpg|right|frame]]

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Utah State University is proud to be involved in the 2008 iGEM competition for its first year. The 2008 USU iGEM team consists of 4 graduate, 5 undergraduate, and 2 high school students under the supervision of faculty with backgrounds in Biological Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Biology, and Microbiology. Though many project topics were seriously discussed, the team chose to study a method of monitoring polyhydroxybutyrate production in microorganisms by inserting a reporter in the PHB operon. This project was selected because of its potential to make the PHB production process more efficient and cost effective by creating a simple system for determining the optimum time for PHB extraction.

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== '''Team Members''' ==

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This project was carried out at Utah State University in beautiful Logan, Utah.

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<!--- The Mission, Experiments --->

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The Utah State University iGEM team project is focused on

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creating an efficient system for production and monitoring PHA

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production in microorganisms. One goal of our research is to develop and

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optimize a method, using fluorescent proteins, for the detection of

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maximum product yield of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB, a bioplastic) in

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recombinant E. coli and in Cupriavidus necator. In order to develop an

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optimal PHB detection system, we focused on the identification of the

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most efficient reporter genes, and the best promoter sequences that

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would allow our reporter to indicate when PHB production was maximized.

*'''Junling Huo''' is a PhD student in Biological Engineering who served as an advisor for the iGEM team. He helped to answer student questions, and guide such experimental activities as primer design, electrophoresis, and DNA purification. His personal research is on ''Rhodobacter sphaeroides'', a photosynthetic bacterium.

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*'''Stephen Merrigan''' is currently working on a MS in Biological Engineering at Utah State studying biodiesel production from algae, and has a background in Microbiology. Stephen's primary role was as an advisor for the project. During the first few months of the project Stephen did background research on project topics. He also helped with lab work when necessary, including DNA purification. Stephen also advised on the wiki construction.

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Trent:

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*'''Joseph Camire''' advised on targeting the amplification of the full phaCAB cassette and phaC gene,optimizing the PCR process and testing of primer sets with and without prefix and suffix regions. His work also involved sequence determination and analysis of the phaCAB cassette contained in the source plasmid. He also guided work on the phaC gene, which included targeting at amplification and preparing the gene for site-directed mutagenesis for removal of a critical restriction enzyme site prior to ligation of a new phaCAB cassette for biobrick construction.

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Libbie:

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*'''Kirsten Sims''' is a first-year graduate student at Utah State University in Biological and Irrigation Engineering. She received her Bacherlor's degree from Gonzaga University in Biology. Her research focuses on the development of cellulose-derived biofuel. As a member of the USU iGEM team, she was involved in the development and design of the project, as well as participation in the laboratory procedures. She also contributed to the development of the wiki by providing an abstract of the project.

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Jun-Ling Huo

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*'''Trent Mortensen''' is a finishing senior in Biological Engineering. His main research direction is biomedical in nature, using herbal antibiotics as possible alternatives for disease treatment. As part of the USU iGEM team, he played an active role in the planning of the project, group coordination, advising professor consultation, laboratory work, ordering of materials, lab maintenance, Wiki preparation, documentation, and presentation preparations throughout the course of the project.

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Stephen Merrigan played a role in researching one of the experiments that was not the final USU iGEM project. Stephen was part of the final experimental design. Stephen also aided in some of the lab wet work. Stephen made a large contribution to the final outcome of the wiki. Stephen has a background in microbiology.

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*'''Elisabeth Linton''' is a Biological Engineering student. Her research is focused on polyhydroxyalkanoates. For the iGEM team, Libbie helped in project determination and planning, as well as literature review and topic research. She also carried out work in the laboratory like restriction enzyme digestions, gel electrophoresis, DNA isolation, and bacterial transformations. She was also responsible for coordinating efforts and organizing the wiki.

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Joseph Camire

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*'''Daniel Nelson''' is pursuing a degree in Biological Engineering and his current personal research project is “Omega-3 Fatty Acid Production and Extraction in Schizochytrium limacinum SR21.” He has enjoyed participating in group discussions as project ideas and direction have been determined. In the lab, he has worked with the team to isolate, purify, and analyze the key DNA promoters for the PHB synthesis gene. He hopes that through study of these promoter regions, the team will find a way to increase PHB production and create a general gene expression system to monitor cellular product accumulation. Outside of the lab, he has helped to design the logo for the USU team.

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Dan Nelson

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*'''Rachel Porter''' is a sophomore at Utah State University majoring in Biological Engineering/pre-med. For the iGEM project, she helped to carry out some of the lab work. In the lab, she helped isolate and purify DNA, prepare and run electrophoresis gels, and culture cells.

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Kirsten Sims

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*'''Matthew Sims''' is a Senior attending Logan High School. This is his first year participating in laboratory research at Utah State University. He plans to go to college next fall and continue his studies in molecular biology and biochemistry. He helped during the summer months to carry out many experiments and obtain and analyze data.

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Rachel Porter

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*'''Garrett Hinton''' is a junior at Sky View High School in Smithfield, Utah. He was heavily involved in the project discussion meetings, as well as the background literature research. Garrett spent many hours working on this project and carried out a substantial portion of the laboratory work.

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Garrett Hinton was part of the final experimental design. Garrett was a huge part of the lab work that has taken place during this experiment. Garrett is a junior at Sky View High School in Logan Utah.

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'''''We would like to thank our faculty advisers - Dr. Ron Sims, Dean Scott Hinton, and Dr. Charlie Miller - for all of their support and for providing this opportunity for the students.'''''

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[[Image:Advisors.jpg|350px|center]]

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Matthew Sims was a huge part of the lab work that has taken place during this experiment. Matthew is a junior at Logan High School

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== '''Logan and USU''' ==

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== '''Where we're from''' ==

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<b><a href="http://www.usu.edu/">Utah State University</a></b> is located in Logan, Utah. Logan is about 85 miles north of Salt Lake City, Utah. The city of Logan is located in the heart of Cache Valley near the on the western slopes of the Bear River Mountains, the northernmost branch of the Wasatch Range. The city has a population of approximately 47,000. Logan was established in 1859 and has a rich heritage and wonderful culture. The city of Logan has been stated to be among the safest cities in America.<br>

<b><a href="http://www.usu.edu/">Utah State University</a></b> is located in Logan, Utah. Logan is about 85 miles north of Salt Lake City, Utah. The city of Logan is located in the heart of Cache Valley near the on the western slopes of the Bear River Mountains, the northernmost branch of the Wasatch Range. The city has a population of approximately 47,000. Logan was established in 1859 and has a rich heritage and wonderful culture. The city of Logan has been stated to be among the safest cities in America.<br>

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Utah State University was founded in 1888 and has evolved from a small, agricultural college to a university that is nationally and internationally recognized for its intellectual and technological leadership. As Utah's land-grant and space-grant institution, the university is led by President Stan L. Albrecht and has 850 faculty who provide education for more than 23,000 undergraduate and graduate students, including 10,000 in its continuing education sites located throughout the state of Utah. USU has more than 200 buildings, 63 of which are devoted to academics. USU also has 3 branch campuses and Extension offices in all of Utah's 29 counties (usu.edu).<br>

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Utah State University was established in 1888 as the Agricultural College of Utah. It's name was later changed to Utah State Agricultural College and was again changed to Utah State University (USU) in 1957. As the land-grant university in Utah, USU conducts world-class research in a variety of agricultural and natural resource disciplines, and has several projects in conjunction with the Department of Defense, NASA. Utah State University also conducts extensive aerospace research. The main campus is located in Logan, Utah. Beyond the Logan campus, Utah State's Extension programs extend academic resources and support throughout the entire state of Utah, having extension locations in each of Utah's 29 counties.<br>

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''The Sant Building, shown below, is home to the new USU synthetic biology laboratory''<br>

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[[Image:Sant_Blgd.jpg|600px|center]]

[[Image:Sant_Blgd.jpg|600px|center]]

Latest revision as of 03:54, 30 October 2008

Contents

iGEM 2008 at USU

TEAM USU BACKGROUND

Utah State University is proud to be involved in the 2008 iGEM competition for its first year. The 2008 USU iGEM team consists of 4 graduate, 5 undergraduate, and 2 high school students under the supervision of faculty with backgrounds in Biological Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Biology, and Microbiology. Though many project topics were seriously discussed, the team chose to study a method of monitoring polyhydroxybutyrate production in microorganisms by inserting a reporter in the PHB operon. This project was selected because of its potential to make the PHB production process more efficient and cost effective by creating a simple system for determining the optimum time for PHB extraction.

Team Member Contributions

Junling Huo is a PhD student in Biological Engineering who served as an advisor for the iGEM team. He helped to answer student questions, and guide such experimental activities as primer design, electrophoresis, and DNA purification. His personal research is on Rhodobacter sphaeroides, a photosynthetic bacterium.

Stephen Merrigan is currently working on a MS in Biological Engineering at Utah State studying biodiesel production from algae, and has a background in Microbiology. Stephen's primary role was as an advisor for the project. During the first few months of the project Stephen did background research on project topics. He also helped with lab work when necessary, including DNA purification. Stephen also advised on the wiki construction.

Joseph Camire advised on targeting the amplification of the full phaCAB cassette and phaC gene,optimizing the PCR process and testing of primer sets with and without prefix and suffix regions. His work also involved sequence determination and analysis of the phaCAB cassette contained in the source plasmid. He also guided work on the phaC gene, which included targeting at amplification and preparing the gene for site-directed mutagenesis for removal of a critical restriction enzyme site prior to ligation of a new phaCAB cassette for biobrick construction.

Kirsten Sims is a first-year graduate student at Utah State University in Biological and Irrigation Engineering. She received her Bacherlor's degree from Gonzaga University in Biology. Her research focuses on the development of cellulose-derived biofuel. As a member of the USU iGEM team, she was involved in the development and design of the project, as well as participation in the laboratory procedures. She also contributed to the development of the wiki by providing an abstract of the project.

Trent Mortensen is a finishing senior in Biological Engineering. His main research direction is biomedical in nature, using herbal antibiotics as possible alternatives for disease treatment. As part of the USU iGEM team, he played an active role in the planning of the project, group coordination, advising professor consultation, laboratory work, ordering of materials, lab maintenance, Wiki preparation, documentation, and presentation preparations throughout the course of the project.

Elisabeth Linton is a Biological Engineering student. Her research is focused on polyhydroxyalkanoates. For the iGEM team, Libbie helped in project determination and planning, as well as literature review and topic research. She also carried out work in the laboratory like restriction enzyme digestions, gel electrophoresis, DNA isolation, and bacterial transformations. She was also responsible for coordinating efforts and organizing the wiki.

Daniel Nelson is pursuing a degree in Biological Engineering and his current personal research project is “Omega-3 Fatty Acid Production and Extraction in Schizochytrium limacinum SR21.” He has enjoyed participating in group discussions as project ideas and direction have been determined. In the lab, he has worked with the team to isolate, purify, and analyze the key DNA promoters for the PHB synthesis gene. He hopes that through study of these promoter regions, the team will find a way to increase PHB production and create a general gene expression system to monitor cellular product accumulation. Outside of the lab, he has helped to design the logo for the USU team.

Rachel Porter is a sophomore at Utah State University majoring in Biological Engineering/pre-med. For the iGEM project, she helped to carry out some of the lab work. In the lab, she helped isolate and purify DNA, prepare and run electrophoresis gels, and culture cells.

Matthew Sims is a Senior attending Logan High School. This is his first year participating in laboratory research at Utah State University. He plans to go to college next fall and continue his studies in molecular biology and biochemistry. He helped during the summer months to carry out many experiments and obtain and analyze data.

Garrett Hinton is a junior at Sky View High School in Smithfield, Utah. He was heavily involved in the project discussion meetings, as well as the background literature research. Garrett spent many hours working on this project and carried out a substantial portion of the laboratory work.

We would like to thank our faculty advisers - Dr. Ron Sims, Dean Scott Hinton, and Dr. Charlie Miller - for all of their support and for providing this opportunity for the students.

Logan and USU

Utah State University is located in Logan, Utah. Logan is about 85 miles north of Salt Lake City, Utah. The city of Logan is located in the heart of Cache Valley near the on the western slopes of the Bear River Mountains, the northernmost branch of the Wasatch Range. The city has a population of approximately 47,000. Logan was established in 1859 and has a rich heritage and wonderful culture. The city of Logan has been stated to be among the safest cities in America.

Utah State University was established in 1888 as the Agricultural College of Utah. It's name was later changed to Utah State Agricultural College and was again changed to Utah State University (USU) in 1957. As the land-grant university in Utah, USU conducts world-class research in a variety of agricultural and natural resource disciplines, and has several projects in conjunction with the Department of Defense, NASA. Utah State University also conducts extensive aerospace research. The main campus is located in Logan, Utah. Beyond the Logan campus, Utah State's Extension programs extend academic resources and support throughout the entire state of Utah, having extension locations in each of Utah's 29 counties.The Sant Building, shown below, is home to the new USU synthetic biology laboratory